Volcanic Activity

 Discuss your country’s volcanic activity (past or present)


Fiji has a total of 452 Volcanoes throughout its many islands. The biggest Volcanoe is Taveuni which is about 4071 feet tall. Up until the end of the 20th century it was believed that the volcano had gone utterly extinct. After some research and further studies by scientists its was noted that the last eruption was probably less than 400 years ago which makes it an active volcanoe.

Aside from that, the Fiji and Lau Ridge are no longer active volcanic island arcs. Since there is no subduction of rifting in the Fiji Islands, but they formed from a similar process in the past. However, there is still active seafloor spreading that occurs to this day in the Lau Basin.

In order to forecast and mitigate possible future eruptions Fiji should incorporate constant and continuous seismic monitoring for activity in their few active volcanic arcs.



Plate_Tectonic.pdf (mrd.gov.fj)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tsunamis

Image
One of the biggest Tsunamis to have hit Fiji was in 1953 due to the 6.7 earthquake in Suva. The earthquake had caused a slip in the seabed of the harbor  area which brought about the tsunami in the Suva Peninsula. It dealt major damage to the wharf and caused 3 deaths in Suva, 12 were also reported as drowned in the Fiji Islands Koro and Kadavu. The main source of the tsunami was the result of a "60 million cubic meter submarine landslide at the head of the Suva Canyon". Usually earthquakes near Fiji are the cause of tsunamis, but they can also be caused by "a sudden motion of the ocean floor." This could be due to an underwater landslide or even a powerful volcanic eruption. Tsunamis are a big concern as most population is concentrated in low coastal areas.  One way to further help lower injuries and damages would be to setup a real-time monitoring system of seismic activity and tsunami education and research program to study causes and frequent locations. These co...
Read more

Mass Wasting

Image
One of the most frequent examples of Mass Wasting in Fiji would be landslides. There are many small and minuscule ones that take place throughout the year, due to earthquakes on just terrain structure on it's own. One of the biggest landslides to have hit Fiji was in December 18, 2016 on Fiji's Qamea island. The landslide swept many houses and structures into the seas. It happened due to the cyclone season dumping heavy rain and causing very severe floods throughout the country. The landslide took place in the Island's Dreketi village. Luckily there were no casualties but "more than half of the village was covered in soil and debris". Even the Village center, health center, and school was pushed out to sea. During the event many older people and children had to be moved into their neighboring villages, many even took boats to stay with relatives on Fiji's Taveuni Island.  Plate_Tectonic.pdf (mrd.gov.fj)
Read more

Climate Change

Image
The Pacific region as a whole is suffering more and more from extreme weather due to climate change aside global warming. They are most definitely the ones who are most vulnerable to it but also contribute the least in terms of global emissions. The average temperatures have already increased about 34 degrees Fahrenheit and are still on the rise. This also causes "ocean acidification" which is continuously increasing further with global warming. This affects reef ecosystems which is an essential part of the communities livelihood. due to this coastal erosion is also being sped up as they act as the "first line of defense against storm surges and strong waves". Global warming is also bringing about a rise in sea level. For example in Tuvalu, the sea level has already increased by around 13.2 cm from 1993 to 2021 with an upwards trend of 4.7mm per year. These alongside storm surges and king tides accelerate coastal inundation which is further affecting their water sec...
Read more